He was found guilty.
Bill Hwang, a billionaire renowned for his substantial contributions to the Evangelical community, faced legal judgment in New York City on Wednesday for his involvement in a massive securities and market manipulation scheme. The fraud, which allegedly resulted in a staggering $100 billion global market loss, centered on Hwang’s leadership at Archegos Capital Management, founded in 2013. Found guilty on 10 of 11 charges, including racketeering, securities fraud, market manipulation, and wire fraud, Hwang potentially faces a life sentence in federal prison. Patrick Halligan, Archegos’ former CFO, was also convicted on charges of conspiracy, securities fraud, and wire fraud.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Hwang and his associates manipulated publicly traded securities prices and deceived major global investment banks to inflate their portfolio from $10 billion to $160 billion. Prosecutors argued that Hwang misled banks about Archegos’ significant holdings in approximately 12 stocks using intricate derivatives and loans. Despite Hwang’s defense portraying him as a high-risk investor, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams emphasized the severe financial repercussions of Hwang’s actions, highlighting the rapid loss of billions of dollars when Archegos collapsed.
The 2021 collapse of Archegos resulted in a $10 billion loss over ten days, significantly impacting the stock prices of investment banks such as Nomura and Credit Suisse. UBS and Morgan Stanley also reported losses. The global market suffered an estimated $100 billion decline due to the firm’s failure. Prosecutors accused Hwang and Halligan of falsifying Archegos’ positions and other critical metrics used by banks to assess creditworthiness, inflating a $1.5 billion portfolio to $36 billion.
Before his financial downfall, Hwang was a prominent figure in the Evangelical community, notable for founding the Grace and Mercy Foundation, which managed assets exceeding $500 million at its peak. He also held positions as a trustee at Fuller Theological Seminary and supported various well-known Evangelical organizations, including Focus on the Family, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, the Museum of the Bible, The King’s College, and Ravi Zacharias Ministries. The name “Archegos” derives from a Greek term meaning “chief prince,” referencing Jesus Christ in the New Testament.